KUBS made up for the hurt of losing last year’s Hula Hoops Under 20 Men’s National Cup final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght this morning as they overcame Moycullen in one of the closest finishes of the weekend.

There were stars all over the court for both of these talented teams, and the result hung delicately in the balance right up until the final buzzer as Moycullen came back from a 15-point deficit in the opening quarters, to tie the game with just over a minute left to play in the third quarter, teeing up a spectacular and nerve-wracking finale.

KUBS stormed into an early lead, with Jack Pollon and Stephen Allen getting some big scores up early on, Pollon finishing the first with 14 points to his name as KUBS took a 26-13 lead at the buzzer. With four minutes gone in the second, they had extended their lead to double scores (30-15), with MVP Eoin McCann finding his stride. Good defence from Moycullen’s Connor Curran and John Hackett began to stop the onslaught though, and they, alongside Paul Kelly began to close the margin to go in at half time trailing 35-26.

The third quarter was the spark that ignited the firecracker though. There’s determination, and then there’s the level that Moycullen reached in that quarter. As the quarter opened, it looked like KUBS would dominate once more with an opening bucket from Eoin McCann followed by two back-to-back three pointers from Jordan Fallon.

Seconds later though, Paul Kelly replied at the other end with a huge three and this, followed by brilliant defence from Connaire and Curran sent a surge of momentum with the Moycullen team.

A steal from Kelly minutes later was finished with a lay-up, and brilliant rebounding from Hackett and Curran kept the ball moving up the court and, with just over a minute to go, they had suddenly closed the gap to just one point (47-46). A superb score from Kelly tied the game moments later on 48 points apiece, before the sides exchanged scores once more and KUBS held the smallest of all lead, 51-50, going into the last.

The game went straight back into the melting pot as the fourth got underway with James Connaire dazzling for Moycullen and matching KUBS score for score. A huge fourth quarter though from McCann kept KUBS’ noses in front, and Moycullen just couldn’t take the lead. A massive three-pointer from Fallon with three minutes to play suddenly put KUBS up by five but again, Connaire and Kelly were on hand with an answer and it was back to a one point game as the seconds ticked down. McCann drew the foul in the dying six seconds, and two free throws were slotted home by the talented young player to put them up by three, and a last gasp shot from Moycullen just didn’t find the target and KUBS were crowned champions on a final scoreline of 68-65.

After trailing by double scores in the first and second quarter, an enormous third quarter fight back from the Galway side saw them pull the game back to just one point at the buzzer (51-50) and by just under the midway point in the fourth, they had taken the lead for the first time in the game.

DCU Mercy’s fight for three Hula Hoops National Cup titles in a single weekend got off to a dream start as the U20’s retained their trophy in overpowering Brunell 73-54.

With five of this squad suiting up for Sunday’s Women’s National Cup final, the Dubliners were eager to put the Friday decider to bed early. Bronagh Power-Cassidy, Rachel Huijsdens and Maeve O Seaghdha could all consider the National Basketball Arena their home court after starring in Ireland’s silver medal winning U18 side in the 2017 European Championships in Dublin. The trio were quick to settle as Mercy raced clear with a 14-1 run before Brunell Coach Danielle O’Leary, herself a silver medallist for Ireland’s Senior Women at European level, called a much-needed time out.

Brunell’s young charges were facing real intensity on offence particularly from Nicole Clancy, but Amy Murphy eventually found space to knock down a three-pointer. The young forward also featured for Ireland’s history making U18 side and helped her side to settle with a delicious reverse lay-up.

Mercy were 20-8 clear after 10 minutes. Brunell looked in more trouble again when Bronagh Power Cassidy connected with her side’s first triple and Elizabeth Black laid up for a 32-12 lead.

The response was impressive from the Cork side. They pushed the ball quicker in transition to make the most of Alex Macheta’s electric pace for a pair of fast-break baskets. Amy Murphy picked out Orla Murphy’s back door cut and the 6-0 run had the drums banging once more in the bleachers.

DCU Mercy were firmly back in control leading 35-18 at half time with the help of some of their big guns returning to the floor - Huijsdens somehow wriggling free to fire in a buzzer beater from the low post.

There was no let up from Tiffany Corselli’s blues in the second half. Nicole Clancy’s locked in her MVP performance on both sides of the ball and Aoife Maguire had her side 25 points clear within moments of the restart. Maguire was playing in her last basketball game at underage level and along with fellow U20 specialists like Aisling O’Driscoll and Cliona Hamill was in no mood for a Cork comeback.

Brunell did manage to hang with the champions elect for the rest of the game. There was a rousing cheer for Laura Morrissey’s three-pointer and Katie Walshe took her tally to eight points.

Six members of the squad had just a 14-hour turnaround to the U18 Women’s final but for Captain Maguire, it was a moment to savour: “There was a huge target on our backs as champions from last year, but we’re just really lucky to have a bunch of girls who are willing to put the working week after week.”

Templeogue Under 18 Men’s team stormed home to National Cup glory this afternoon as they closed out a thriller at the National Basketball Arena.

This game was in the melting pot right up until the closing seconds as Neptune came back from a 10-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to tie the game level at 64 points apiece midway through the fourth with a huge shot from Scott Hannigan. Leadership from Templeogue’s Kris Arcilla in the final five seconds saw him keep cool, calm and collected to widen the gap out to four points and they somehow hung on in the face of everything in Neptune’s armoury to win out 72-68 in the end.

It was a gritty opening quarter between the two teams as, in front of a large crowd, it was a case of who would settle quickest. A wide spread of scoring from Neptune’s Scott Hannigan and Darragh O’Sullivan was matched at the other end by the tenacious and talented Kris Arcilla who kept his side in touch early on with nine well-taken points. O’Sullivan was in flying form for Neptune to put them in the lead 16-11 at the end of the first.

Templeogue settled quickly in the second though, and began to find their range, with Iarla McKeon finding the mark early on and Matthew Harper chipping in with eight points to see them into a slim 31-28 point lead at the half following brilliant defence from Finn McKeon and Aston Kisuka in particular.

A Kris Arcilla inspired third quarter for Templeogue saw a huge display from the Dublin side, with Iarla McKeon and Matthew Harper continuing to cause trouble for the Neptune defence. For their side, Darragh O’Sullivan was firing on all cylinders, and some superb scoring from James Hannigan kept Neptune in touch in the face of the Arcilla dazzle, as they headed into the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead (56-46).

Despite the deficit though Neptune were not going down without a fight. Inspired by a superb display from Darragh O’Sullivan along with excellent shooting from Scott Hannigan, James Hannigan and David Murray and by the midway point, Scott had drawn the two teams level. Iarla McKeon responded for Templeogue and another two big scores from the Dubliners less than 30 seconds later widened the gap back to six.

Up stepped David Murray once more with two massive scores for Neptune and, with 25 seconds on the clock, it was suddenly back to a two-point game. With the crowd on the edge of their seats, overtime looked likely until a foul on Kris Arcilla sent him to the free throw line, where he calmly slotted home the two shots in style despite the enormous pressure. Neptune had one last chance as the clock ticked down, but it was Templeogue’s day and they won out 72-69 in the end after a nail-biting finale.

DCU Mercy’s domination of underage basketball continues as their U18 side claimed their second Hula Hoops cup trophy of the weekend with a 74-42 win over Brunell.

The Dubliners had no representative in the 2014 finals, lost the U18 decider in 2015 and both underage finals in 2016. Since then they have won both the U18 and U20 cups in 2017 and again in 2018. For today’s winning coach Damien Sealy, credit belongs with a very special group.

“It all comes down the girls,” he said. “There wouldn’t be a club without them and they showed how good they were today. Some of our best players never knew what it was like to win at underage. Now some of them don’t know what it’s like to lose.”

Glanmire made the better start as Mia Furlong claimed the tip off and create space for Annaliese Murphy to open the scoring from the top of the key. Tara Lynch followed but DCU Mercy sooned proved why six of this team put Brunell to the sword in Friday’s U20 decider.

Nicole Clancy and Bronagh Power Cassidy were central to Mercy’s 16-0 run. Their ball movement and intensity was hard to live with and it forced Glanmire into a zone press to try and stem the tide.

On the defensive end, Niamh Kenny and Meadhbh Ó Séaghdha forced back-to-back shot clock violations and it took some tigerish work on the boards for Tara Lynch to get Glanmire back on the scoreboard. They trailed 18-8 for the first quarter with Bronagh Power Cassidy’s 10 point-haul doing the brunt of the damage.

Mercy’s first string were motoring but it was all about their bench in the second quarter. They put 12 points on the scoreboard with 6 coming from Ciara Philips including rapid fire baskets to open the period. Grainne Conway hit four points in her minute on the floor and Fiona O’Grady made it double scores at 36-18 with two minutes to the half.

Glanmire had their moments too. Caoimhe O’Driscoll made two assists to close out the half with a combination of hard running and soft hands. Her late dish gave Tara Lynch the easy layup and a no-look pass helped Annaliese Murphy net her second triple and reach 10 points for the half.

With the half-time score at 38-25, an evenly matched third quarter was of little use to Glanmire. Elizabeth Black’s reward for leading Mercy in rebounds was an open three-pointer before Glanmire beat the buzzer to end the period trailing 56-35. It was a fine move from the Cork girls with Rachel Quirke whipping the assist inside to Lynch.

Mercy still had the strength in depth to see out their second win of the weekend. Clancy, Ó Séaghdha and Power-Cassidy were held in reserve down the stretch as the rest of their squad generated enough heat to set off a fire alarm in the Arena. The break in play only delayed the inevitable – another National title for Damien Sealy’s troops.

DCU Mercy’s fight for three Hula Hoops National Cup titles in a single weekend got off to a dream start as the U20’s retained their trophy in overpowering Brunell 73-54.

With five of this squad suiting up for Sunday’s Women’s National Cup final, the Dubliners were eager to put the Friday decider to bed early. Bronagh Power-Cassidy, Rachel Huijsdens and Maeve O Seaghdha could all consider the National Basketball Arena their home court after starring in Ireland’s silver medal winning U18 side in the 2017 European Championships in Dublin. The trio were quick to settle as Mercy raced clear with a 14-1 run before Brunell Coach Danielle O’Leary, herself a silver medallist for Ireland’s Senior Women at European level, called a much-needed time out.

Brunell’s young charges were facing real intensity on offence particularly from Nicole Clancy, but Amy Murphy eventually found space to knock down a three-pointer. The young forward also featured for Ireland’s history making U18 side and helped her side to settle with a delicious reverse lay-up.

Mercy were 20-8 clear after 10 minutes. Brunell looked in more trouble again when Bronagh Power Cassidy connected with her side’s first triple and Elizabeth Black laid up for a 32-12 lead.

The response was impressive from the Cork side. They pushed the ball quicker in transition to make the most of Alex Macheta’s electric pace for a pair of fast-break baskets. Amy Murphy picked out Orla Murphy’s back door cut and the 6-0 run had the drums banging once more in the bleachers.

DCU Mercy were firmly back in control leading 35-18 at half time with the help of some of their big guns returning to the floor - Huijsdens somehow wriggling free to fire in a buzzer beater from the low post.

There was no let up from Tiffany Corselli’s blues in the second half. Nicole Clancy’s locked in her MVP performance on both sides of the ball and Aoife Maguire had her side 25 points clear within moments of the restart. Maguire was playing in her last basketball game at underage level and along with fellow U20 specialists like Aisling O’Driscoll and Cliona Hamill was in no mood for a Cork comeback.

Brunell did manage to hang with the champions elect for the rest of the game. There was a rousing cheer for Laura Morrissey’s three-pointer and Katie Walshe took her tally to eight points.

Six members of the squad had just a 14-hour turnaround to the U18 Women’s final but for Captain Maguire, it was a moment to savour: “There was a huge target on our backs as champions from last year, but we’re just really lucky to have a bunch of girls who are willing to put the working week after week.”

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Basketball Ireland (B.I.) is the national governing body for the sport on the island of Ireland.

Part of FIBA Europe, the European Governing body, and of FIBA, the World Governing body, B.I. is responsible for the promotion and administration of basketball throughout Ireland and for Irish international participation.